Which to use
“schön” is an adjective and “schont” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #282
- “schön” frequency rank
- #36,616
- “schont” frequency rank
- 36898
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | schön | schont |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | ästhetisch, eine angenehme Wirkung auf die Sinne habend: zum Beispiel ein gutes Aussehen habend, sich gut anhörend | 3. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs schonen |
Where the eye mixes schön and schont
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between schön and schont
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: schön is [ʃøːn] while schont is [ʃoːnt]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 36898, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
schön is recorded at frequency rank #282, classified as anadj, pronounced [ʃøːn]. schont is at rank #36,616, tagged as averb, pronounced [ʃoːnt].
Glosses for this pair are partially populated in our dataset, but the full side-by-side definitions above should still guide you to the right choice.
With a confusion score of 36898, this pair ranks #1,603,898 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of schön vs schont
Shared letters: chns. Private to "schön": ö. Private to "schont": ot.
"schön" · 5 letters · shape CCCVC · "schont" · 6 letters · shape CCCVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
- schont ← cshont · scchont · schhont · schnot · schonnt · schontt · schotn · scohnt
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "schön" for "schont" ever safe?
In ordinary German text, does "schön" or "schont" show up more?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "schön" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "schont" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,603,898 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "schön" and "schont" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "schont vs schütt". Nearby pair
- Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes
Confusion rank #1,603,898 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.